Temperamentals Plays @ The Blank

 

The Temperamentals
by Jon Marans
directed by Michael Matthews
The Blank Theatre Company
through May 22

Not since Bent has there been so much media attention and interest in a play about homosexuality than currently exists with regard to Jon Marans' The Temperamentals. Still running off-Broadway the play is now onstage at The Blank Theatre Company with an appealing cast, direction and certainly intriguing and controversial subject matter that will keep audiences coming to see it. Done in a rather fast paced docudrama style, The Temperamentals, as gays were called in the early 50s, long before Stonewall in 1969 enticed them out of the closet, the play, despite being a curiosity piece of fine intellectual proportions, never maintains a high enough emotional involvement, at least in this production.

Real life founding fathers of the Mattachine Foundation in California, Harry Hay (Dennis Christopher) and Rudy Gernreich (Erich Bergen) make strange bedfellows to be sure, the former a very driven, radical advocate for homosexual rights as well as a member of the Communist Party, the latter Austrian and Jewish with a promising career in Hollywood as a bold fashion designer. Hay, like most closeted men of his time, was married; Gernreich was not, but he was frequently warned by studio magnates like Vincent Minnelli, that it might be a good idea, if he expected success in his field. When the two form a partnership to try to put Hay's manifesto into practice, their resulting relationship is awkward and unfulfilling, especially for Gernreich who, despite his background of persecution, is less uptight, more go with the flow than Hay, all business and too much of a hard-driving bully at times to relax and enjoy life. Chuck Rowland (Mark Shunock), Bob Hull (John Tartaglia) and Dale Jennings (Patrick Scott Lewis) one by one come on board as the other founding fathers of the group, and it is their firm, undying commitment to the cause that propels the drama forward. With no access to newspaper or radio, their clandestine operations were frequently interrupted by the authorities. Jennings, one of Hull's boyfriends, is arrested for lewd behavior in public and goes to trial, winning a case that encouraged the men to keep fighting for established rights for homosexuals, but this was merely a beginning, which turned into a conspiracy of silence with the public at large. Though membership increased, new members disliked the political implications of the mission, which forced the founding fathers to eventually disband and the group to become a social club of little significance.

The actors are in fine form. Christopher is resolute and dedicated as Hay, as is Bergen as Gernreich. Even though he slips in and out of his Viennese accent, Bergen creates a complex character whose fame as an innovative costume designer was practically guaranteed in spite of his background and dalliances. Bergen has a magnetism, facial mannerisms and overall mannered style that add nicely to the character's dimensions. Tartaglia is funny and somewhat sympathetic as flamboyant Hull, who, like many gays who live for the moment, never really finds true happiness. Lewis is strong, direct and masculine as Jennings. Tartaglia, Jennings and Shunock play an array of characters, displaying excellent versatility with split second changes. Matthews as director keeps the pacing fast and the action tight and flowing throughout. Kurt Boetcher's dark set with minimal light in small windows and staircase, Cameron Zetty's lighting design and Lauren Tyler's period costumes all help to better define the underground ambiance. As to Marans' writing, there are some terrific scenes like the Act II opener where all the men except Hay play the various women in Hay's life, showing at least to some slight degree the other, more feminine side of these closeted men. The staging of this scene is fascinating with each man dressed in a toga-like white sheet and each with a peculiarly different hat and defending a corner of a squared area like pawns on a game board.

As is, like a documentary, The Temperamentals shows a period in history where gay men did not dare to expose themselves if they valued their careers and social standing. When they did, they were sadly defeated by the powers that be. Young people should know that these early men gave their best to the cause, and the piece might very possibly make a more than decent film, but the one most important element lacking from the play is an emotional attachment to the characters. Yes, the element of detachment is built into the story, but I'm a romantic at heart and want to be moved by innermost feelings. For example, when Gernreich finally walks away from Hay in Washington, there is not a glimmer of emotion in a cold, sterile disconnection. Did Marans create it this way, or is it the director's choice?

 

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